HW: Encyclopedia of Rock

[Duane Hoyt]

Hello all Hawkfriends,

        I ran across a book in the library called The Encyclopedia of
Rock, written by a couple of idiots by the name of Phil Hardy and Dave Laing.
I was mildly surprised to see Hawkwind listed in this book, but I was very
disappointed in the write-up they recieved. These guys are obviously not
very knowledgeable about HW, and I must say, quite biased and opinionated
in there writings. Here is a reprint of the article.
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HAWKWIND

        Originally called Group X, Hawkwind emerged in 1970 from London's
Ladbroke Grove, the nearest thing in Britain to a hippie ghetto. X became
Hawkwind Zoo, then plain Hawkwind when their manager Doug Smith signed them
to United Artists. Formed by Dave Brock (guitar, vocals) the original
lineup included Huw Lloyd Langton (guitar), Terry Ollis (drums), Nick (later
Nik) Turner (saxaphone), Dave Anderson (bass), and Dikmik (electronics).
        The band became known as regulars on the free festival circuit and
the first album (Hawkwind, 1970) was unimpressive. But the following year,
poet and writer Bob Calvert joined the ensemble and inspired Hawkwind's
space-rock persona on In Search of Space (1971), and their surprise hit single
'Silver Machine' (1972).
        Various personnel changes occured as Hawkwind consolidated a large,
youthful following on both sides of the Atlantic. Langton, Ollis, and
Anderson left, with Lemmy Kilminster (bass), Simon King (drums), and Del
Detmar (electronics) joining. The statuesque Stacia eventually became a
permanent fixture as a dancer, while in 1974 Dikmik and Calvert departed, the
latter to follow a solo career. The next year Lemmy was fired: he then formed
Motorhead, a hard rock band whose lack of prowess was reminiscent of the
early Hawkwind.
        Further tours and albums (e.g. Hall of the Mountain Grill, 1974)
saw Hawkwind continuing in their time-warp, their anachronistic image and
pulp scifi material appealing to teenage audiences unfamiliar with flower-
power and all its trappings. Warriors on the Edge of Time featured the voice
of science-fiction writer Michael Moorcock and Astounding Sounds, Amazing
Music (1976) - their first after leaving United Artists for Charisma - was
their last before a major reshaping of personnel that left the band's line-up
reading: Brock, Calvert, (who had returned on a temporary basis), King,
Adrian Shaw (bass), and Simon House (keyboards). The album Quark, Strangness,
and Charm (1977) followed before Brock disbanded Hawkwind and formed a new
outfit, Hawklords, with Calvert. 25 Years On (1978) was released before
friction forced Calvert out for good.
        A new Hawkwind emerged in Sept. 1979, consisting of Brock, King,
Harvey Bainbridge (bass), Huw Lloyd Langton, and Tim Blake (keyboards). In
many ways a hippie hangover, the band maintained a sizeable following into
the Eighties with releases like Choose Your Masques (1982) and Independents
Day (1984). They have at least to some extent adjusted to the modern world in
their lyrics and presentation.

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        There you have it, hope it does't piss too many of you off. I find
that there are many unecessary negative comments in this, as it should be
factual if the book it is in calls itself an encyclopedia, and there should
not be bias written into this article. I seriously doubt that the author of
this has ever taken his head out of his ass long enough to listen to much, if
any of the music we all agree is the best around.

Duane

OBCD: Lords of Acid - Voodoo U


--
" Back to the earth I screamed,
  and no one listened to me.
  Back to the earth I lived,
  and they all followed..."    Rusted Root